


The Assassin in the Library

by Lucky7



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Gen, Library Vignette, Mouser Cat Charlie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-25
Updated: 2012-08-25
Packaged: 2017-11-12 21:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucky7/pseuds/Lucky7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A library vignette...in which Harold has taken on more help, but it's not working out quite like he had hoped. (Season 1)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Assassin in the Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LindaO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindaO/gifts).



> ...who left such kind comments and seemed to really like the other one.  
> Hope this meets with expectations...! :)

“Are you there Finch?”

Reese turns on the earpiece, brushes off his jacket and glances one last time at the body at his feet.  
Not dead…not this one at least.

He had checked earlier to make sure there was still a strong pulse and now takes a small packet out of his pocket to shove into the hand of the unconscious man. When the lax fingers won’t close around it, he lays the packet under the slack hand. It will have to do.

“Always…and Mr. Reese, I need…”

“Gotta go Finch. Carter’s almost here!”

Cutting off the earwig, he moves swiftly to the backdoor of the house as sirens shatter the early morning peace. Carter must have been in the area…the only way she could have gotten there so soon after he put in the call.

He lopes back to his car, turning the ear piece on again.

“Finch? All wrapped up. Reisling won’t be taking on any more collection contracts for a while…hopefully not for a long time. ”

“Good to hear, Mr. Reese. And I need you to come back to the library right away!”

“Something wrong Finch?” Reese pauses, feeling his adrenaline kicking in at the sound of the uncharacteristic panic in his employers voice.  
He has come to rely on this audio connection with the genius geek, and in fact it's become somewhat of a lifeline over the past months as Finch relays vital information pertaining to their cases. But his boss’s voice is usually calm and confident; this...vibe...he's now getting is disturbing.

“No…yes... Just hurry!”

Reese sprints to the car.

 

 

**********************

“I’m here Finch!”

The ex-op rushes into the library chamber, skidding to a halt behind the software genius standing just inside the room’s entrance. Finch’s eyes are focused on the computer station.

“Problem?” Reese asks softly, gun in hand, searching the gloomy room for danger. Clouds had been threatening to crash the cheery spring scene all morning and soon the library would be darkened enough to require turning on the inside lights. But for now, he sees only the deepening shadows.

And nothing else.

Reese follows his employers line of sight, but a quick glance still doesn’t reveal anything unusual. Just the heavy table blanketed with monitors and electronic gadgets, the rolling desk chair placed in front of one of the many keyboards.  
Finch’s roost...

“Yes, we have a problem!”

Finch turns his body stiffly toward the ex-op, his brows furrowed...always a sign of agitation.

“It’s another body, Mr. Reese…!” There is definitely anguish in the geeks voice. “You need to do something!”

And he takes another step back. One more, thinks Reese, and his boss will be outside of the room entirely. Something has definitely spooked the older man.

The ex-op moves closer to the computer station, leaving Finch hovering in the doorway. And yes indeed, there it is…partially hidden under the desk, shadowed by the oversized desk chair. He wonders now how long his employer had been standing there, agonizing as access to his beloved computers is blocked by this corpse.

Harold Finch is the most intriguing, multi-faceted man he has ever met. Intelligent, insightful, focused, and with an integrity worth emulating. But a tolerance for violence and dead bodies is not on Finch’s list of strengths. And Reese doesn’t like seeing his employer this upset.

He assumes his most soothing tone.  
“Relax, Harold. I’ll take care of it... You just wait here for a bit.“

Peering under the desk for a closer look, he stands abruptly and strides to the coat rack to remove the leather gloves from his overcoat before proceeding to the storage area at the back of the chamber.

“You know who’s responsible!” Finch says accusingly, raising his voice to follow the ex-op. “It’s Charlie!”

“No doubt…”

“So how much longer are we going to put up with this?”

“I don’t know Finch. How long?” is the unruffled reply, the rustling sound of heavy plastic being pulled from a cabinet underscoring the comment.  
“You’re the one that brought him in, remember?”

“Thanks for that reminder, Mr. Reese. Most unhelpful…!”

Finch warily approaches the computer station and gingerly pulls the chair away from the table. The body is clearly visible now, and he represses a shudder as he rolls the chair around to the front. With a weary sigh he lowers himself into the seat, easing his stiffened leg to one side as he tries to focus on the sounds of Reese preparing to deal with this latest development. Anything to keep from thinking about that cadaver…

“I really thought he would be an asset. Help manage our…problem.” Finch says unhappily.

“Well, yes. You have an assassin in the library. And that’s always been the issue with hiring an assassin to control a crisis. At some point the question becomes…who controls the assassin?” Finch would have no idea as to just how true that statement is. And he's certainly not going to enlighten him.

The ex-op returns to the computer area, a large piece of plastic in his hands which Finch glares at with trepidation. “Is that what you use to dispose of a body? I would have thought you of all people would be more creative. Even Megan Tillman planned to use…”

“I make do with what I have on hand, Finch” Reese interrupts. “This is to wrap corpse and then I find a large empty dumpster somewhere to make it disappear.” And it wouldn’t be the first time the he had used such a method of disposal…but his boss doesn’t need to know _that_ either.

Finch grimaces. Resolutely swiveling his chair around to face the hallway, he calls out, “You might as well come in here Charlie. I know you’re there!”

Silence greets the command.

“Looks like Charlie wants no part of the clean-up…” Reese is now on his knees and proceeds to roll the stiffening body onto the plastic sheet. “You know this was left here just to prove to you he’s doing his job…”

“Yes, well, I can do without this kind of verification, thank you very much!”

Turning once more toward the hallway, Finch continues in a loud voice, “And do you hear that, Charlie? Next time get rid of the evidence someplace else!”

Reese chuckles. No way is Charlie going to come anywhere near his enraged employer right now. Lifting the plastic wrapped body he leaves the room to dispose of it...in what Finch likely hopes is some far away location.

Slowly Finch rolls his chair back to its customary place, careful to place his feet anywhere other than on the corpse’s prior location. A whole morning wasted! He needs to get back to work...

 

 

**********************

Charlie watches the proceedings with aloof interest. His job is done; a swift and clean kill. What more could these people ask for?

And, no…he does not do “clean-up”…at least not his victims. Not part of his job!

He takes one last swipe across his face, cleaning off the rest of the rat stink. Then lifts his tail and silently pads down the hall. There's another one around here; he can hear it scurry behind the walls. It's just a matter of time before he scores another kill. He's proud of his work…he's the best and not known as The Exterminator for nothing!

And next time he will leave his kill ON the desk!

End


End file.
